Bang on mate. You tick more boxes than a lot of Super League teams. All you need is some players and they'll be readily available as you have got longer than any other promoted club into SL has ever had. Every decent out of contract NRL, SL and Championship player (not Chris Hill or Mick Govin-hands off) will be 'contacted' by Widnes and your side next year will have all of the outstanding youth, one year older and a dozen top quality players too.

As a fan of a lower league team I hope Widnes succeed in SL next year and get into the 8. It shows the system is working and gives lower division teams hope that they have not only a future, but if they adhere to the system, a successful future in the top tier.

Glass houses and all that.
So Wakey fans can mock all they want, you've got no fans, ground and a poor side. You're days are numbered.

Don't see the pont in comments like this TBH. One Wakey fan makes some ill-advised comments and then its open season on the whole fan base and the club.

We have got a decent hardcore fan base which will no doubt stand us in good stead in the championship, we don't own our ground but then neither do Leigh (although granted I would much rather pay rent to play out of the LSV then Belle Vue). We have a side put together at a cost of around GBP 800k in wages, which is half the cap. This was forced upon us by the state the previous regime left us in. However, what we do have is a largely british 17 each week made up of mostly lads 20-23 who have pride in what they do and are competing if not winning most weeks.

The new owner has made many improvements to the club in the short time he has been there, and as someone has already said we will be able to spend the full cap next year (in the unlikely event we are still in SL).

Whatever happens Wakey will still be around next season and thats the main thing as far as me and my fellow fans are concerned.

The undeniable fact is there is at least one other club in SL who are less deserving of their place than Wakey, but unfortunately for us the weakest club will be protected under the guise of "expansion".

It still doesn't stop people going 'fishing' as he called it did it. I didn't see many Wakey fans saying he was out of order either, or any saying it now.

I understand that Barry will just jump on any negative arguement, but genuine RL fans shouldn't just lay into another team.

I personally think Wakey will be the next Widnes and go down a division, regroup, redevelop and then push on back towards Super League in a better state than they are in now.

I'm not being confrontational, but which 'other' club is in a worse state than Wakey?

I called his comments "ill-advised" which indicates I don't agree with them. You clearly can't judge a teams playing strength in the championship as an indicator of its SL potential, as you only get to spend GBP 300k - 400k in the championship against GBP 1.65m in SL.

Crusaders are clearly weaker then Wakey. The only things they have over us are "expansion" and a better stadium. Since the move to Wrexham "expansion" is debateable given they are only c30 miles from Widnes.

We beat them on :

Junior development
Crowds
Community Work
Marketing
British Playing Staff
Finances (going forward as we have a more sustainable business plan than them based on crowds and other revenue streams)

They may have a better team currently then us on paper, but they can't afford to sustain that team on the crowds they are getting, and if we were still to be in SL next year we would be able to spend to the full salary cap.

They have had 3 different guises in the time that they have been in SL as well. The RFL need to admit that they were wrong and should not have put them in last time at the expense of Widnes. It was clearly too soon for Crusaders and they should have been allowed to continue to develop as a club in the Chamiponship with a view to mounting a bid for a licence this time around or in 2015.

Good luck to Widnes, last night hardly says anything about how they will get on next year bar they need to sign some new players, they are well aware of that.

Would that be the 4 numbnuts hanging around the overflow car park.

"I wanna chuck a brick at him"
"You haven't got one"
"I've got loads here on the car park" he says kicking them around, fortunately they decided they had better get back on the 4th coach from the end of the row

If your bragging about beating us on junior developemnet, i think its a pretty pointless arguement. We have matched SL clubs in the 16s and 18s area, winning the under 18s and our under 23's are going strong this year. We have 4 players in the Enlgand adacemy, not a bad effort for a championship club. With more support with our youth setup in SL, i think our youth will be one of the best, if not the best in the country. Not far from it now.

Widnes happen to do tremendous amounts of work in the community and do a very good job of it. As it stands, we have better foundations in place to build and and go places than Wakefield imo.
What crowds are you getting this season, i'm actually curious because i don't know?

Wakey have got to accept they have been in administration ie gone bust-That would suggest the business model from top to bottom is flawed-Simple

yes you have a short term local double glazing owner keeping you afloat for the foreseeable future but is that really the basis of a strong club

Go on fire into Quins poor crowds, 10 names, 10 grounds, one money man or maybe respond to issues close at home

hahaha

as always unfortunately every club has these idiots, these were probably people who haven't been a game in 3 years and have turned up on the back of the sl decision. leigh have these idiots too (such as the leigh fan who allegedly spat at a fev fan last season). Every club always will so we might as well just get on with it instead of trying to make widnes sound bad

We are averaging 6,886 at the moment so far this season.

What is Widnes anticipated crowd for SL, is there a buzz around the town about being back in the big time?

Not sure about "the town" but as a neutral observer .....................

First match - 11,000.

Regular gate - i estimate 7,000 to 8,000 at the start. After that it depends on how they go. If they can hold their own and push for top six i see no reason why they can't reach the five figure mark regularly. Steve O'Connor seems pretty shrewd and i'm sure he's going to back his intentions up with a marketing policy to "big up" their status in and around the local catchment area. If they start bad and get bitch slapped like they did yesterday on a regular basis at the beginning then people aren't going to come and watch that - this could hold their gates back to the 5,000 mark.

Long term, with Steve O'Connor at the helm i think they'll make a decent mark on SL - both in results (eventually) and in stature. Would be great to see Widnes and Warrington on a level par.

Great post Rich. Weve set up a membership scheme and the aim is 7000. If we achieve this, with a good away support i can see us passing the 10k barrier once or twice in the first season. We did reach 9,800, 9/900 against Saints and Wire and with the better management we have in place, hopefully we can exceed this. Like you say though, it all comes down now to how we play next season.

wow

i got derided on another RL forum for saying widnes would get 6000 - 7000 in their first season in SL.

good to see

6000 - 7000 in your first season would be good to see.

Hope so.

easily. we were selling out 4-5 home games a year for the first two seasons in superleague. and that was before our friends in warrington had their influx of johnny come latelys in recent years, which will only add to demand for our derbies against them. we all know at least 3 thousand muppets who have gone missing for the past six years will suddenly be 'hardcore fans' again on a regular basis just like last time. and lets not forget, besides leigh, and to a lesser extent Fax and Fev we dont really get any away supporters at our place now.

I am comparing us to Crusaders if you read the post properly

FFS give the guy a chance. He has only been in charge for a couple of months and already the club is run more professionally. The simple fact is we are a more sustainable business without Andrew Glover than quins are without your backer, same as can be said for Crusaders.

No not at all. I want to see my team win and I want to see them win with flair. The RFL told us that we had to improve our youth set up, this in turn has had a detrimental effect on the 1st team. Widnes were fortunate enough to win the NRC in 2009 so it gave us the opportunity to concentrate on off field matters. Halifax and Barrow had the same opportunity a couple of months later but chose not to, especially on the youth side.

I personally think the team that wins the league at the end of the season should be crowned as champions. I am sure you would agree that Fev were the best and most consistent team in the league last season but didnt end up champions as a result of a one off game. At the end of the day the rules have now changed so whether we agree with the situation or not we cannot change it.

By the way its £12 to get in at Widnes (if you buy in advance) and £16 to get in at Leigh so I dont know where you get the £18 from.

i was thinking 600/7000 yr 1
maybe 10,000 by years 3 - 5

if the ground is consistantly full then fill in the corners and push towards 18k cap early days i know but thats how i think

Dare to dream!

I think with the set up and backing that Widnes have got they will follow a similar path to what Warrington have. I hope so as it seems they're almost growing too big for their new stadium now and having to redevelop it again.

agree with all of that

widnes will easily be another warrington in SL, and it wont take long either

looks a very tidy ground on TV, mistook if for the HJ tbh

Utter bollox , your investement in a good youth set up is not your excuse for a poor 1 st team performance over the last 2 years , that is purely down to poor recruitment and coaching , just like any other club